Elf on the Shelf 2013 – Day 5

I come from a long line of rodeo folk. Calf ropers, team ropers, steer wrestlers, bull and saddle bronc riders, barrel and pole racers, horse showmanship. Growing up, Mom even played the rodeo music on the small organ she and Dad would load into the back of the pick-up, haul to the local rodeo grounds, and hook up to the loudspeakers. And I would sit on the tailgate of the truck, my feet dangling, watching the excitement beneath the bright white lights and cheering along with the crowd.

Though I’d participated in 4-H since I was age eligible–showing sheep and steers, making ceramics, and even entering cooking competitions–it wasn’t until 4th or 5th grade that I finally wore my parents down to enter barrel racing and showmanship competitions. Since we lived in town and had no horses at the time, we made arrangements with two separate families who had horses I could “borrow”. We purchased two horses for $1.00 each–Ginger, a small, stubborn mare that I used for pleasure riding and showmanship competitions, and Andy, my big, brown and white, blue-eyed paint that we trained from an overweight pasture pet into one helluva barrel racer.

And while my rodeo career only lasted until we moved from Bird City, Kansas to Holdrege, Nebraska in October of my 7th grade year, I loved every moment of it while it lasted.

My brothers, Beau and Eddie, carried on the family tradition of bull riding, and it seems like Cosette wanted to get in on the fun. Unfortunately, Electra is not very competitive.